Course syllabus

Image: Napoli Underground Central Station, EMBT, Under Construction

a. Syllabus

ACE110
Public Buildings
VT23
Maximum Timber 2: Transportation

LP3~4
22.5 HP
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering
Master's Program in Architecture and Urban Design

See Studieportalen (link)



Image: Haneda Airport Terminal 3, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Tokyo, 2010



Image: Jack Layton Ferry Terminal, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Toronto, 2015

b. Staff

Jonas Lundberg (Lecturer, Supervisor)
Kengo Skorick (Lecturer, Supervisor, Examiner)
Samuel Norberg (Assistant Lecturer)

c. Schedule

See TimeEdit (link)

d. Purpose

Public architecture is the art and science of buildings designated for public use.  They are vibrant social condensers orchestrating complex interactions of people, activities, equipment, and building parts.  

Our studio examines the potential of public buildings as advanced design challenges that entangle public life, civic identity, density, building technology, sustainability, and context.  Its intrinsic complexity is ideal for employing systems thinking and computation into the design process to effectively explore complex building designs.

e. Method

Our primary method of developing ideas is by hands-on making and testing physical and digital models.  Analog and digital techniques such as spaghetti structure load tests, digital structural analysis, and prototyping, are used in combination to gradually increase project resolution from intuitive concept designs to rational detailed designs.

We believe the best way to master tools, techniques, methods, or concepts is direct applying them to solve personally-meaningful problems.  Our studio project is more about the design process itself and the customized problems, challenges, and goals it sets along the way for gradually articulating the final outcome.  

f. Tools

Material

+  Spaghetti
+  HMA (Hot Glue)
+  Cardboard
+  Wood
+  Plexiglass
+  and more..

Analog Fabrication

+   Hot Glue Gun
+   Hot Wire Cutter
+   Woodshop (e.g. Table Saw, Band Saw)

Digital Fabrication

+   Laser Cutter
+   CNC Knife Cutter
+   CNC Milling Machine (Small / Large)
+   CNC Foam Cutter
+   3D Printer (Gypsum / Plastic)

General-Use Software

+   AutoCAD (2D Drafting)
+   Rhinoceros (3D Modelling)
+   Grasshopper + Plug-Ins (Parametric Design)
+   Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo (Raster Editing)
+   Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer (Vector Editing)
+   Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher (Publishing & Typesetting)
+   Google Earth Pro (Context)
+   V-Ray (Rendering)
+   Twinmotion (Walk-Through)

Special-Use Software

+   3DF Zephyr (Photogrammetry)
+   Ansys (Structural Simulation)
+   Blender (3d Mesh Modelling)
+   RenderDoc (Frame-Capture)

g. Literature

+   Anti-Object: The Dissolution and Disintegration of Architecture (Kengo Kuma, 2006)
+   Atlas of Novel Tectonics (Jesse Reiser, Nanako Umemoto, 2006)
+   Collage City (Colin Rowe, Fred Koetter, Kenneth Hylton, 2005)
+   Form & Data  (A+T Research Group, 2016)
+   In Ignorance and Surprise: Science, Society, and Ecological Design (Matthias Gross, 2010)
+   Made in Tokyo: Guide Book (Momoyo Kaijima, Junzō Kuroda, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, 2006)
+   Manual of Section (Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J Lewis, 2016)
+   Megastructure: Urban Futures of the Recent Past (Reyner Banham, 1976)
+   Points + Lines: Diagrams and Projects for the City (Stan Allen, 2012)
+   SITELESS: 1001 Building Forms (François Blanciak, 2008)
+   The Function of Form (Farshid Moussavi, Daniel Lopez, 2019)
+   The Function of Ornament (Farshid Moussavi, Michael Kubo, 2019)
+   The Function of the Oblique: The Architecture of Claude Parent and Paul Virilio 1963 - 1969 (Pamela Johnston, 1996)
+   Why Density? Debunking The Myth Of The Cubic Watermelon (A+T Research Group, Idoia Esteban, 2015)
+   Tragsysteme = Structure System (Heino Engel, 2009)

Books are found in the Chalmers Library (link) as hard-copies or e-books. Some e-books and essays are found in our Box drive (link or Canvas > ACE110 > Modules > Library > References). 

h. Learning Outcomes

+   Creating and presenting a public building design project.
+   Understanding public buildings as a field of knowledge in architecture and urban construction.
+   Understanding relevant contemporary challenges for public buildings.
+   Managing a complex urban context and program in a building design project. 
+   Performing design studies for a large-scale building with respect to volume, construction, circulation, and interior.
+   Managing advanced representation methods (drawings, models, diagrams, and / or alternative representation methods) to focus on specific aspects of the design with respect to the public nature of the project.
+   Understanding the role of public buildings in the city and society, including cultural and ethical aspects.

i. Evaluation

Course completion requires (a) participation in 4 reviews, (b) 80% participation in lectures, demonstrations, tutorials, (c) and submission of all deliverables.  Evaluation is based on individual (a) dedication, (b) effort, (c) and incorporation of feedback.

j. Background

Densification & Hybrids

Half the world lives in urban areas today and is expected to rise to 75% by 2050.  Gothenburg's population is expected to double by 2035 to 1.75 million and in response the city must provide 5 million m² of commercial & residential properties through 100 billion € of private sector investments.  

Being lower in priority than private buildings, public buildings inevitably become proportionately scarcer, cheaper, and ultimately expendable.  Whenever the public sector doesn't provide enough internal public spaces, the private sector will.  Shopping centres are promenades..  Foyers are meeting points..  Cafés are coworking environments..

We see the symbiotic relationship of public-private hybrid buildings worth exploring architecturally in order to promote excellent indoor public spaces around the city.  Aside from promenades, meeting points, and working environments could private businesses innovatively profit from hybridizing their buildings with any conventional public building type like a bathhouse, library, museum, performing arts center, or sports hall?  How would their business models manifest themselves architecturally?

We aim to tap into the ongoing larger discourse around densification and a rapidly developing Gothenburg by reimaging the city's most relevant projects and locations with our own alternative proposals that better integrate public architecture.  

Image: Älvstaden / RiverCity Gothenburg, Urban Development Projects, Göteborgs Stad (Red = 2021, Orange = 2028, Yellow = 2035~)

Image: Centralenområdet, Göteborgs Stad, 2028

Image: Starbucks Rx. Roastery, Shanghai, 2017

Image: Markthal, MVDRV, Rotterdam, 2014

Gateways & Destinations

As the city densifies, it's important for transportation hubs to serve as symbolic gateways to and from the city.  They set the first impressions for visitors and have the traffic necessary for being cultural destinations as well.  The existing transportation hubs of Gothenburg are sound engineering solutions to practical problems but fail as gateways and cultural destinations.  Infrastructure without architecture.  Can you reimagine the existing transportation hubs of Gothenburg as iconic gateways and cultural centers fit for the future city?



Image: Gothenburg Central Station, Adolf W. Edelsvärd, Gothenburg, 1858



Image: Stena Line Denmark Ferry Terminal, Gothenburg



Image: Göteborg Landvetter Airport, Gothenburg, 1972

Delicate Material & Robust Usage

Architecturally we are exploring dense and ornate structural spaces through the design of a timber-based international transportation hub gateway structure. 

Timber is increasingly considered to be the construction material for the future due to its superior performance as a versatile building material and a sustainable resource.  Research and development into engineered timber products such as cross laminated timber (CLT) keep timber competitive alongside steel and concrete.  Timber however is weaker than them and requires significantly more material to achieve the same structural goals. 

Rather than seeing material abundance as a setback we're interested in the rich architectural qualities that naturally follow when using timber to span great distances or carry extremely heavy loads.  In other words, timber for big spaces carrying big heavy equipment and big heavy crowds.  Delicate material meets heavy usage.  What original and wonderful architectural qualities of maximized timber will you discover?   

Image: Balder, W. Stengel, Liseberg, Gothenburg, 2003

Image: Suvarnabhumi International Passenger Terminal 2, Bangkok, DBALP, 2018

Image: Synegic Office, UENOA, Miyagi, 2018



Image: Napoli Underground Central Station, EMBT, Under Construction